


Of Halcyon Feeling

by stoplightglow



Series: Mercy 'verse [2]
Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angels, Catholicism, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Religion, Self-Acceptance, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stoplightglow/pseuds/stoplightglow
Summary: Gerard's two favorite people finally meet. Set some time afterEchoes of Mercy, Whispers of Love.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Series: Mercy 'verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180985
Comments: 14
Kudos: 36





	Of Halcyon Feeling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sixthofnever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixthofnever/gifts).



> happy birthday saint mercy!! the brilliance and kindness you have brought into my life are immeasurable, and i am so thankful to call you my friend. many moons ago, you left me like fourteen voice messages asking me to write a coda in which frank and mikey meet, and i certainly did not forget that <3 i really hope you enjoy!!
> 
> title from "love calls us to the things of this world" by richard wilbur.

Gerard dips his head to catch a light off Frank’s cigarette. Frank’s eyelashes flutter as their foreheads press together, casting golden lamppost shadows on his cheeks, but once Gerard steps back and takes a drag, Frank looks at the ground.

“Hey,” Gerard says softly. “You nervous?”

Frank bounces from his heels to his toes. “Yeah. Clearly.” 

“You don’t need to be. This crowd’s going to love you.”

“We haven’t been inside yet. It could be all angry metal dads.”

Gerard holds back a laugh. “I watched the door, the worst I saw was a Def Leppard shirt. Besides, when I say something good’s about to happen, it usually does.”  _ Don’t let this be an exception, _ he sends up silently.

“That’s true,” Frank admits. Even if his face stays troubled, his shoulders relax a bit. 

A dude from the headlining band walks by them with an amp, and Frank is standing in the way of the back door, so Gerard tugs him closer to make room. Frank slides an arm around Gerard’s middle. His fingers land on Gerard’s wings, hidden beneath the denim jacket he’s still borrowing from Frank.

“They’re setting up so much equipment,” Frank groans. He turns his head and lets out a cloud of smoke by Gerard’s ear. “There’s going to be like, no room left on stage for us.”

_ Let there be room for Frank and his band.  _ “If there’s not enough space to cram you and your stuff, just come into the crowd.”

“You’re such an idea man.” Frank laughs a little before his forehead creases with another frown. ”You know the show’s not the only reason why I’m nervous, though, right?”

“No, I know.” Gerard drops a kiss on Frank’s forehead. “But that’ll be okay, too.”

Frank nods, looking a little distant. “No, yeah. He already knows about us, I don’t need to worry.”

“You don’t,” Gerard agrees.

“Right.” Frank bites his lip. 

Behind them, Rob sticks his head out of the back door. When he spots Frank, he calls, “We’re on in ten, dude.”

Frank waves over his shoulder at Rob. To Gerard, he says, “I should—”

“Yeah.” Another kiss to Frank’s temple, and then Gerard is ready to let him go. “Knock ‘em dead, sweetheart.”

*

Gerard heads back up to street level and stands by the stairs to watch for Mikey, who shows up a few minutes later. Mikey’s charge hops out of his car with a friend; Mikey waits until they disappear into the bar, then gets out of the back seat and strolls up to join Gerard.

They hug tightly, Mikey’s wings wrapping around them. Gerard can’t help it, his eyes start to water — the pure joy of having his little brother back still hasn’t worn off. Mikey, always the more stoic of the two of them, gives Gerard a small smile in return.

“You know how many of your boyfriend’s flyers I had to put up around Charlie’s neighborhood to get him to come to this gig?” Mikey tells Gerard as they walk down the grimy stairs to the underground bar. “Not to mention, a copy of Frank’s CD mysteriously appeared in his car. You’re welcome.”

“Thank you,” Gerard says. He glances sideways at Mikey, and with much less sincerity, adds, “Convince your charge to buy a t-shirt too, will you? I promised Frank I’d work the merch stand tonight.”

Mikey rolls his eyes and shoves Gerard’s shoulder hard enough to make him bump the brick wall of the staircase. They reach the door at the bottom, and Mikey’s gaze flicks up to the purple neon sign overhead.

“Sodom and Gomorrah. They sure know how to name these places, huh.”

“You have no idea.” Gerard realizes with a start that Mikey still looks like that sign, glowing faintly around the edges with his halo and wings out. “Oh, if you’re going to meet Frank, you should probably. . .” He gestures vaguely.

“Shit, I forgot.” Mikey materializes, his body taking physical form and his halo fading. He has to tuck his wings away into his own jacket. The change is subtle, like the shadows hit him differently, but he still has a light behind his eyes like Frank always says Gerard does.

Mikey completes his transformation by fixing his hair and pushing some strands of it under the arms of his glasses, because of course he does.

It truly sinks in that Mikey is finally going to meet Frank, and the thought makes Gerard’s chest tight with happiness. If they weren’t in public, he’d have to get his halo out just to emit some of the bright, warm light that feels like it’s filling him to the brim.

“Ready?” Mikey says, looking down his nose at him. Frank’s set is starting inside, Gerard can hear the first bass notes through the wall.

He grins and pulls the door open.

*

Frank does come out into the crowd — not all the way over to where Gerard and Mikey lean against the merch table, they’re too far off to the side. But Frank keeps meeting Gerard’s eyes, bright and intense like a lightning storm. 

_ He’s amazing, _ Gerard thinks towards the ceiling.  _ Thank you for helping me love him. _

When Gerard peeks over at Mikey, he’s bobbing his head to the music. Gerard smiles even wider.

They sling t-shirts and CDs towards the end of the set and for a few minutes after, until Frank hops over the merch table to join them. It makes for a fast-paced introduction between Frank and Mikey: Frank tries to shake Mikey’s hand, his Catholic school manners apparently still intact, while Mikey goes for a weird arm punch that maybe proves just how long it’s been since he’s had to meet someone new who can actually see him.

They migrate over to the bar once the headliners start and order two beers and a diet Coke with Frank’s drink tickets. Mikey and Frank only spend a few more minutes on awkward footing; by the time they order another round, Mikey’s pointing out his charge in the crowd and bragging about his music taste.

“I like to think I was his biggest influence in that department.” Mikey gestures with the neck of his bottle to where Charlie is pushing through people to try and get to the stage. “He’s still working on the distinction between the Smiths’ brilliance and Morrissey’s bullshit, but I forgive him for that.”

“We angels can only guide, not fix,” Gerard says sagely, and clinks his glass with Mikey’s beer.

Frank cuts his gaze over to Gerard. “Have you been subliminally influencing me like that?”

“No.” Gerard pauses, reconsiders. “Well, I have been buying more fresh produce for when you come over so we eat fewer frozen dinners. If that counts.”

“You bastard,” Mikey says. “Making him healthier.”

“It’s like I don’t know you anymore,” Frank says, but he grabs Gerard’s hand on the bar and laces their fingers together.

A few minutes later, a sweaty dude who looks like he’s just dragged himself out of the pit squeezes himself next to Frank and orders a shot. Gerard tries to ignore him, but the guy unexpectedly leans in, interrupting Mikey’s story about when Gerard first got his downy feathers to yell, “Frank fucking Iero! It’s been too long!”

Frank looks momentarily confused, until he glimpses the guy over his shoulder. Then Frank’s whole face drops. He immediately lets go of Gerard’s hand and shoves his fist into his palm instead.

Gerard looks at the door.  _ God, if I need to get us out of here, please grant me a quick way to do so— _

“Hey — hey man,” Frank says, the knuckles of his fist slowly turning white.

“It’s Garrett Turner. From Queen of Peace.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Frank casts Gerard and Mikey a panicked glance. Mikey shrugs, and Gerard’s fingers twitch, wanting to hold Frank again and comfort him. 

Eloquently, Frank says, “Um.”

“Oh, shit.” The pungent scent of alcohol wafts over from Garrett’s breath, even stronger than the general rank smell of the bar. Gerard wrinkles his nose. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Kind of,” Gerard interjects before he can help himself. He doesn’t like the way Frank is cowering in this guy’s shadow, or how Frank won’t look Gerard in the eye for more than a few seconds at a time.

“Jesus, go ahead and bite my head off.” Garrett grins and bumps Frank’s shoulder like they’re buddies. Frank tenses visibly. “Why don’t you introduce me to your groupies while I’m standing here waiting on the damn bartender?” He shouts the last few words way louder than he needs to, and the woman pouring drinks at the other end of the bar shoots him a dirty look.

“This is Mikey,” Frank says hurriedly, pointing. Gerard doesn’t want to be the one to tell this asshole to fuck off, it’s not really his style, but he’s finding it hard to believe that Frank is entertaining this for this long. He almost starts to pray for Garrett to not let the door hit him on his way out before he stops himself, because that’s probably improper use.

Frank continues, “And this is Gerard, my, uh. . .”

Oh, fuck. It hits Gerard so fast his stomach drops.  _ Don’t let him pressure himself into admitting anything he’s not ready for, Lord, please don’t make him feel guilty— _

Frank clears his throat. “My boyfriend. Yeah.”

“Huh.” Garrett falters for a moment, then laughs sharply. “Guess the old rumors were true, Iero.” 

Before anyone can say anything else, the bartender hands Garrett his beer, and he slinks back into the crowd. Gerard glares after him, gripping the edge of his stool so he doesn’t follow him and do something unlike himself.

“What a fucking tool,” Mikey announces. His bluntness gets a tiny smile out of Frank, which Gerard is thankful for. But Gerard only really starts to breathe again once Frank puts his hand back on top of his.

“You okay?” Gerard asks quietly.

“Could use another beer,” Frank says. Before Gerard can flag down the poor bartender again, Mikey just passes over what’s left of his. Frank takes it gratefully.

After downing the rest of the beer, Frank shrugs nonchalantly. It might look convincing to Mikey, but Gerard can still feel Frank’s hand shaking against his own. 

“That guy used to shove me into lockers in high school,” Frank says. “But fuck him. Now he’s at my show, right?”

Mikey pokes Gerard’s side, and Gerard realizes he’s glowering after Garrett again. “Maybe it’s time to go?” Mikey suggests.

“I think so,” Gerard says, and Frank nods. Gerard puts an arm around Frank’s waist and holds him close all the way out to the parking lot.

*

Outside, Frank helps his band load up, and then the three of them stand around and shake off what happened in the bar. Frank loosens up after a little while, his smile starting to reach his eyes again.

Mikey’s charge eventually comes back to his car with his friend, so Mikey sighs and has to hug Gerard goodbye. His glasses dig into Gerard’s shoulder just like they did when they were kids, and Gerard loves it.

Mikey says into his ear, “I’m glad you found someone who takes care of you too.”

God help him, Gerard starts to tear up again. He’s just so lucky.  _ Thank you for everything you’ve blessed me with. _

Mikey steps back and raises an eyebrow. Gerard offers him a watery smile. “Shut up, you know how I am.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Mikey says, feigning innocence. He goes to shake Frank’s hand. Frank rolls his eyes and crowds him into a hug instead.

“You already saw me at my worst in there, dude, we’re way past a handshake,” Frank says, a little muffled against Mikey’s jacket. Mikey murmurs something back, too low for Gerard to catch, but whatever it is makes Frank’s eyes crinkle happily.

Gerard and Frank cover Mikey as he turns invisible again. A few parking spots away, Charlie starts his car. Mikey squeezes Gerard’s arm and heads off to join his charge, and Gerard waves after him. Cutely enough, Frank does too, even though he can’t see Mikey anymore.

Once Mikey’s gone, Gerard folds Frank’s hand into his and pulls him along. People are starting to file out of the bar to leave, but Gerard takes them in the opposite direction of the band’s van. “You don’t feel like going home yet, do you?”

“We have Mass tomorrow,” Frank says slyly.

Frank can act like a lapsed Catholic all he wants, Gerard knows he still likes going on Sundays. “I’ll never keep you out too late for Mass.”

“I know.” Frank traces a finger up Gerard’s arm. “I never actually mind when you keep me up late.”

Gerard bites the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning too much at that. “I noticed a nice fire escape earlier.”

“Did you?” Frank takes them around a corner, out of sight. His eyes twinkle with light from shop signs as he watches Gerard shrugs off his jacket and spread his wings.

Holding Frank close, Gerard lifts them into the air. Frank lays his head right over Gerard’s heart. They’ve flown together plenty of times, but Frank still breathes fast and nervous, so Gerard maneuvers them carefully and sets them down on the fire escape as gently as he can. It’s off some restaurant that’s closed for the night, so they shouldn’t disturb anyone.

“Hey.” Gerard stretches his wings out, letting the breeze ruffle his feathers. Frank kicks his legs out in front of himself to dangle over the street below. 

“Hm?” hums Frank. 

“Think you could yell out that I’m your boyfriend again?”

Frank’s mouth pulls to the side as he pretends to consider. “Only if you line the sidewalk down there with Catholic school bullies.”

“Tough. But I’ll see what I can do.” More seriously, Gerard says, “I hope you didn’t feel obligated to say anything back there.”

“What? No.” Furrowing his eyebrows, Frank says, “I didn’t. Don’t worry.”

“You’re sure?”

Frank shrugs. Gerard’s halo reflects back as a golden line across his pupils. “I know it doesn’t matter much to you, but I like that you’re mine. I want to tell people. I’m just still getting used to it.”

“It does matter to me, it’s just not as important as your comfort,” Gerard says.  _ Help him understand where I’m coming from. How much he means to me.  _ “Wherever you're at, I’m good with it. And if anyone gives you shit, I’m not really a fighter, but Mikey would probably kick their ass for you.”

Laughing, Frank says, “With those skinny legs?” He's so adorable that Gerard kisses him high up on his cheekbone, right where his blush always settles. “I can fight my own fights. But thank you. For that, and, you know. Everything.”

“Of course,” Gerard says. What Frank doesn’t get, at least not fully yet, is that it’s no burden on Gerard. Gerard’s heart beats with Frank’s happiness. 

Frank stares down at the street. “I’ll scream out that you’re my boyfriend some other time. My voice is pretty tired.”

“Plenty more nights,” Gerard says. Raising a hand to cradle Frank’s cheek, he kisses him, and it’s as perfect as it always is, like two beams of light finding each other in the dark. 

“Love you,” Frank murmurs. 

“Love you always,” Gerard says.

They stay up there until Frank’s ready to go, and then Gerard flies them home. Frank’s head rests against Gerard’s heartbeat the whole way. 


End file.
